A Nice Day for a White Wedding
by NicHarper
Summary: Another day, another mission, another undercover op... That is until Skye and Ward have to go undercover as soon-to-be-weds. How will the team cope? *Hoping to make it a multi-chapter* I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
1. Chapter 1

Skye jerked slightly as she felt the ribbons at her back being cinched together ever tighter. It wasn't painful as such, just an unfamiliar sensation – one, she begrudgingly admitted, that she could get used to. There was no mirror in the dressing room, so she had no idea what she would look like by the time the shop attendant finished securing her into the delicate gown she was currently trying on. It didn't really matter though, because for the first time in... Hell, maybe the first time e_ver_, Skye felt beautiful.

Sure, she wore a light layer of make-up every day, but that was about it. She could never be bothered with overly-girly clothes, nor did she have the time (or skill) to style her hair each morning; so, for a long time now, she had lived a life of practicality. Which, as it turned out, had been a blessing in disguise considering there's no way in hell she would have been able to do the kind of work she was now doing with S.H.I.E.L.D. in a wardrobe of skirts and frilly dresses.

"All done! Ready to see how gorgeous you look?"

Skye was pulled from her thoughts by the excited announcement of the shop attendant. Skye smiled at her, and gingerly moved towards the dressing room door. "Here goes nothing" she mumbled, and took a deep, reassuring breath in an attempt to prepare herself for whatever sight she was about to be confronted with. Wait. Was she nervous? No. That was ridiculous, right?

"Hurry up, Skye! I want to see!" She heard Simmons eager voice from outside the thin walls of the dressing room.

Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Skye closed her hand around the door knob and emerged from the tiny space. Simmons was waiting for her a few steps from the door with a huge smile on her face; a smile that faded into awe as soon as she saw Skye. Seeing this, Skye started to panic. "What?" she demanded. "Is it that bad?!"

The young scientist quickly broke out of her haze, and rushed to reassure her. "No, no, it's not that" Skye relaxed slightly, some of the tension visibly leaving her body – only to be replaced by confusion. "Then what?" she questioned.

"You look...absolutely amazing" Jemma finally finished. Skye was completely taken aback by this, and found herself lost for words; something that didn't happen very often. Simmons chuckled slightly, and extended a hand out to her friend, "Come on, why don't you see for yourself?"

Slowly, Simmons led Skye to the wall of mirrors waiting ominously in the corner of the room; Skye, feeling her earlier sense of trepidation returning, kept her eyes keenly focused on the ground; partly to stop herself from tripping over, and partly to avoid having to see what she looked like. They reached the mirrors, and Skye stepped up onto the small podium, lifting the flowing skirts of her dress as she went. She couldn't do it though. She couldn't bring herself to look up.

"Skye!" Simmons chastised, "You have to look at your reflection some time. Why don't you just get it over with?" Skye let out a childish groan, and silently counted down from three in her head. When she reached zero, she snapped her head up to the mirrors – she figured the best way to do this would be by applying "bandaid logic"; get it over and done with all at once.

She froze; a mixture of shock and disbelief settling on her face. Was that still her? Skye looked down once again and took in the beautiful, white gown. It was strapless with a beaded, corset bodice that flowed down into an A-line skirt. When she had seen it on the hanger, she had been mortified. Skye wasn't really into wearing sparkly things; she was about practicality, remember? But now, as she took in the sight of herself in the wedding dress, she couldn't care less about practicality. Despite the beading on the bodice, the overall look was still a simple one. And she loved it. It didn't matter that she would only get to wear this dress for an hour or two, she was sold.

A grin broke out on her face, and she turned slightly to see Simmons mirroring her smile. "What do you think?" She asked, her British accent coming through strongly, "As bad as you thought?"

Skye laughed slightly, and smirked "Are you kidding me? It's even worse!" she answered mockingly with an exaggerated eye roll. The two girls broke out into fit of light laughter, revelling in the moment. Being on the Bus all the time really didn't allow many opportunities for girl-time, and so, for the two of them, this was a rare joy.

Still smiling, Skye turned backed to her reflection and took in the sight of herself in a wedding dress once more. She was still struggling to come to terms with it, to be honest. _Wedding_ dress. Wow. She knew it was just a cover, just part of another op for S.H.I.E.L.D. but she couldn't find it within herself to care. She, _Skye_, was wearing a wearing a wedding dress, and she was actually going to let herself enjoy it.

And just like that, she felt as if all the tension she'd been holding on to melted from her body. She took another breath, and this time, she found it be soothing. She giggled slightly to herself, and turned back to Simmons. "Now comes the real problem... Where am I going to hide my gun?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi guys, thanks for the reviews - I still get a mini-heartattack whenever I see them. It's a bit like, "That's so nice!" and it's typically followed by a little bit of fangirl jumping up and down - what can I say, I'm a loser. **

**Anyways, what I really wanted to say is that I'm hoping to clarify the details of the mission in the next chapter, this one is more of an introduction to how Ward is feeling about the op. Hope you like it. :)**

And this is precisely why he was never getting married.

Grant Ward sat on the couch listening to the incessant sounds of Simmons and Skye organising his fake wedding. Did people really agree to this willingly? What was the big deal anyway? The only thing relevant about a wedding ceremony, as far as he was concerned, was the piece of paper you sign at the end. In which case, why bother with all of this pomp and ceremony? If he ever did get married, he decided, he would be cutting out the ceremony and going straight for city hall.

He rolled his eyes as he remembered the previous day as Skye and Simmons had returned from dress shopping with a gown. Or at least he assumed it was a gown, it was hard to tell what it was from inside the suit bag. And then of course, he had made the ultimate mistake of asking to see the dress...

"No!" Skye and Simmons had practically screeched at him in unison. Ward hadn't been able to mask his alarm at the girls' sudden outburst, and had instantly taken a step back, putting his hands up as a sign of surrender.

Skye had taken the suit bag from Simmons and lovingly cradled it to her chest as she made her way to her bunk, being sure to shoot him a dirty look before turning away. Simmons, still standing before him, echoed the look, "It's bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding! Honestly, Agent Ward; surely even _you_ know that!"

His jaw dropped. It wasn't even a real wedding, for god's sake. It was a cover. A cover! It wouldn't make a difference to him if Skye wore a big, white dress or a potato sack as long as the mission was completed. Ward had opened to mouth to say as much, but was unable to get a word out before Simmons threw a "Tsk tsk" his way, and retreated to Skye's bunk.

And now, here he was, sitting on the couch listening to the two women make decisions about meaningless details for a day he was certain would _not_ be the happiest of his life. His last maybe, if the mission went bad, but not happy. Certainly not happy.

"Which do you think, Ward?"

"Hmm?" He had stopped listening a long time ago, after quickly realising that he would have nothing useful to contribute.

Skye rolled her eyes at him, whilst Simmons let out an exhausted sigh and repeated her question, "Which colour theme do you think is better: The black and white..." she held up the black and white satin sample for him to inspect, "Or the blue and white?" she finished, holding the blue and white sample in her other hand.

In all his time as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Grant Ward had had to do many dangerous things: infiltrate secret organisations, shoot his way out of buildings, disarm bombs, and so much more. But this, this was probably the most dangerous situation he'd ever been in. He could see the expectant looks on their faces, and knew that there was indeed a right and _wrong_ answer here. This wasn't about his opinion, this was a test. And he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say.

He mulled it over for a second, and came to his conclusion. It was a gamble, but if it paid off it could very well release him from any future scrutiny regarding this wedding business. Clearing his throat, he answered, "Both."

It was the wrong answer. Everything around him seemed to go into slow motion as he watched Skye and Simmons' expression go from expectant to disgusted. He had no more than _milli_seconds to fix this situation before it got ugly, and he wasn't wasting any time. "Hold on! Wait, just hear me out"

Skye merely crossed her arms over her chest, smirking slightly; whilst Simmons, who had just opened to mouth – probably to hurl abuse at him, closed it once again, and narrowed her eyes at him. Wow. Simmons was really into this wedding thing. Suddenly, Ward felt a substantial amount of pity pool in the pit of his stomach; poor Fitz.

Simmons cleared her throat, "Yes?"

Ward mentally prepared himself, this was going to take all of his focus. "Well," he started. "I think that the black and white is a classic look, and would work best for the bridal party and... that kind of stuff" He was veering off course; he was losing them, he could feel it. "_But_" he continued quickly, "I think it would be a nice touch to have some blue around the place – like, on the flowers, and the decorations. I mean, it would be fitting considering that _Skye_ is the bride and all."

Nailed it. He watched as a sly smile began to form on Simmons' face, and Skye was unable hide the look of shock that had settled on hers. Simmons was the first to break the silence, "I think you may be on to something there, Agent Ward. What do you think, Skye?"

Skye struggled to compose herself as she answered, "Um... yeah. I mean, that sounds nice." She looked back over to him and their eyes met. He couldn't be sure how long they sat there staring at one another; however, he did notice that he was slightly annoyed when they were interrupted by Simmons asking for opinions about flowers.

He knew even less about flowers than he did about colours, and quickly realised that it would be dangerous for him to be in this general vicinity until they had finished their planning. Getting up from the couch, he saw Skye's expression fall slightly. Did she want him to stay? Why? In the 2 hours he had been sitting here, he had offered his opinion on exactly one thing. She didn't need him for this, especially not when she had Simmons.

Once in the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water and waged a small war with himself. Letting out a sigh, he took his water and retreated back to his original spot on the couch and sat back down. He paid special attention to Skye as she watched him settle back into his seat, and noticed the small smile return to her face as she sifted through the pages of the latest magazine Simmons had shoved her way.

He kept watching her, and caught her as she glanced up to look at him. He sent her a small smile, and rolled his eyes, being sure to shake his head slightly so as to fully convey what he was feeling. She smiled back, and returned to flipping through the pages of the magazine, looking happy. He took in the sight of once more, and let out another small sigh. He was in this now; there was no getting out of it. Still, it could be worse, he guessed. At least he was "marrying" Skye, and not Simmons. _That_ would have been a nightmare.

No, for this mission, it was him and Skye. For better. Or For worse.


	3. Chapter 3

Skye sprinted through the Bus at top speed. She could kill Simmons right now! Probably about as much as Ward was going to kill _her_.

As the training area came into sight, she noticed his tall form waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she called to him as she reached the staircase. He turned to look at her, ready to voice his annoyance at her lateness but was unable to get the words out as Skye lost her footing on the step and toppled into him, knocking both of them to the ground.

Ward grunted as he hit the floor, being greeted by a dull ache radiating from his head down to his back. Well, he guessed, he had probably deserved the pain. What else could he have expected when he had wrapped his hands around Skye's waist, instead of using them to break his fall.

Skye, who was still on top of her S.O., raised her head slightly to meet his gaze. Still breathing hard from her earlier bout of running, she smiled hesitantly at him before adding, "Does this mean I have to do extra push-ups?"

As much as he had been trying to keep a mask of irritation on his face, he couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped his lips. Skye laughed with him, pushing herself up slightly until she was basically straddling him, his hands not straying from her hips – neither of them aware of the way their current position would have come across to any unsuspecting onlookers.

"And you're late because...?"

Skye let a frustrated sigh. "I know!" she answered, a touch of exasperation mixed in with her tone. "Simmons is getting completely crazy over this wedding op. I mean, I thought that I was bad, but she is just taking bride-zilla to a whole new level!"

"So you admit that you've been taking this wedding stuff to the extreme?"

Skye froze for a moment, realising what she had just said. She had confessed to being wedding-crazy, and there was no way Ward was going to let her take it back. Letting out a sigh, she bowed her head and admitted it. "Yes..."

She raised her head to meet his gaze once more and continued, "But to be fair, this is the first time I've ever gotten to imagine myself getting married in my whole life! I know that I got a bit carried away there for a second, but now. I don't know. I think if I ever did get married; simple is the way to go."

He looked at her surprised, "You never imagined yourself getting married? Not even when you were little?"

She shook her head, avoiding his eyes. "When you grow up in a place like St. Agnes, you tend to spend most of your daydreams thinking about getting adopted, not getting married." He softened at that, and without even realising what he was doing, brought one of his hands up to brush the hair away from her face and cradle her cheek. She stilled at his touch, and snapped her eyes to his. They stayed like that for a while, neither one sure how to proceed.

"_Now entering United States Air Space; 3 hours till landing_" It was May's voice over the intercom that broke them apart. Skye jumped off Ward and found herself sprawled on the floor; whilst Ward promptly stood to attention looking around for whoever had seen them in their compromising position – before quickly realising it was the intercom, and not a spectator to their unintended intimacy.

Relaxing he extended his hand out to her, helping her up. Except he didn't let go, neither did she. Instead, he led her over to the punching bag before realising he had run out of reasons to hold her hand. He let his hand fall to his side, and couldn't help but notice how reluctant he was to do so. This was bad.

They'd been working together for some time now, and together they had faced unimaginable dangers. Each time coming a little bit closer, each time learning a little bit more about the other that no one else knew. They were a team, but lately, it was becoming abundantly clear that he wanted to be more. Which was something that he could _not_ allow to happen. They were partners. It was his job to protect her, to keep her safe; just as it was her job to do the same for him. A romantic relationship would throw their entire team dynamic out of balance, and that was dangerous. In their line of work, it could very well mean the difference between life and death; and he would rather see her heart break, than see it stop beating all together.

He studied Skye as she finished strapping up her wrists, and positioned herself in front of the bag. He moved around to the other side and held it steady for her. She began punching – her form now close to perfect; she had come a long way since they'd first started training. He decided to quiz her about the mission while she trained.

"Mission objective?" he asked.

"To run an undercover operation to identify the person or persons behind the disappearances of over six newly married couples." She answered between punches, perfectly verbatim from the mission specs.

"Link between the couples?" he continued.

"All couples were married in a Masterson church, in a Masterson ceremony."

"And?"

"There's no concrete evidence to suggest foul play from Masterson's, just areas of interest."

He nodded, "What are the areas of interest?"

"Masterson ceremonies provide the wedding bands to their couples, and Fitzsimmons found the wedding bands at Masterson Offices to be giving off an unknown energy signature."

"And that's where we come in" he finished for her.

She shot him a smirk as she continued pounding the bag, "Yep, till death do us part."

**A/N: I know it's probably not the best reason to stage an undercover operation, but who cares cause Skye and Ward are getting "married". I'm hoping to update again soon. Hope you liked it. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Skye eyed the little blue box sitting on the desk in front of her like it was going to bite her.

Coulson had passed it to her last night as they wrapped up the mission briefing; just casually placed the box in her hands like it was the most natural thing in the world. But it wasn't. It was an engagement ring. As in big, shiny diamond with something like a million carats fixed into an even shinier band.

It didn't matter that it was just part of her cover, or that she wouldn't have to wear it for more than a few hours; she just couldn't bring herself to put the ring on her finger. She couldn't say exactly why, there was just something about the jewellery that set her teeth on edge.

"Skye, we need to go. Our appointment is in less than an hour." She sighed as she heard Ward's voice from outside her bunk. Like she could forget about their _appointment_. Today was the day that she and Ward had to meet with the Masterson Church celebrant; apparently they needed to "work out the kinks" for their ceremony.

"Skye?" he tried again.

"I just need a minute," she called back, her voice breaking on the last word – dammit. She heard the door open and looked up to meet his eyes. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt, rolled up to his elbows and tucked into a pair of long, black trousers; his expression was a mix of confusion and concern. "What's up?" he asked softly.

She looked away from him, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know; everything else has been fine. I mean the dress, the colour theme, the flowers – all of that. It's the cover, that's all. But, that..." she gestured to the offensive blue box on the desk, "_that_ just... makes it all seem _real_. Is that stupid?" She finished, meeting his eyes once more. He walked into the room fully, coming to sit next to her on the bed.

"Stupid? I don't think so." He reached across her and retrieved the jewellery box, "Admittedly, I've never had to wear an engagement ring myself..." he shot her a small smile as he opened the box, revealing the ring, "But I think it's a symbol, and when you wear it, it's only natural for it to feel like the real thing." He removed the ring from its case and held it between his thumb and fingers, "Look at it this way: even though this is all just pretend, the hardest part of any undercover operation is selling the cover." He still held the ring as he reached for her left hand; Skye felt her breath hitch slightly with the action, and returned her eyes to his. "And I think, if wearing this makes it feel real, then it's probably the best weapon you have." His eyes never left hers as he slipped the ring onto her finger; Skye was unable to make a reply as she lost herself in his gaze.

She didn't know when he had gotten so close, his face was just inches from hers and she was powerless to move away. She desperately wanted to move forward, to press her lips to his. She knew that she shouldn't, but right now she didn't care. At that moment, it was as if nothing else in the world existed; it was just her and Ward and she didn't want to hold back from him anymore. She began to edge forward slowly, moving to close the gap between them. At the same time, Ward ducked his head in an effort to give her easier access; this was happening, she closed her eyes as space between became a mere centimetres...

"Skye? Ward? You're going to be late!"

Of all the thoughts that had been running through Skye's head in the moments before, at the sound of Simmons' voice, every single one of them was replaced with profanities. She assumed that Ward must have been thinking the same thing because he let out an exasperated sigh as he pulled away from her to stand up. "We'd better go" he said stiffly.

"Yeah," she answered, "Wouldn't want to keep the crazy, people-snatching church waiting." The tension in the room broke as Ward let out a light laugh at her quip; she smiled back at him and jumped up from her seated position. Together they left her bunk and headed for the SUV in the cargo bay, making up silly details about their back-story as they went.

Skye was just about to open the passenger door when she noticed the ring Ward had placed on her finger. Interesting. She had completely forgotten about it since he had threaded it onto her finger. Looking at it now, she no longer felt her panic from earlier; it didn't even feel heavy to her anymore - if anything, it felt right.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi guys, once again, thanks for all the reviews - they really do make you want to sit down and write more and more (hence the frequent updates for this story; well, that, ****_and_**** the fact that I'm avoiding study). **

**Just wanted to let you know that this chapter is more of a filler, and I am planning to write the wedding into the next one. So, I hope this chapter isn't too boring. **

**Also, as a side note: apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors. I do try and read through all my writing thoroughly before I post it, but have noticed a few mistakes in the last few chapters, which is something that I'll try and clean up. **

**Thanks for everything. :)**

It was the final mission briefing.

In other words, it was the night before her wedding.

Skye and Ward sat side by side in the War room as Coulson ran through the mission proceedings for the last time.

"So, May and I will operate as Skye's parents. I'll be walking her down the aisle, while May will remain in the church before the ceremony to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity." The team nodded automatically. This was probably the hundredth time they had been walked through the proceedings of tomorrow's op, and all of them would have been capable of reciting the plan in their sleep – none of them complained though. Come tomorrow, there was no going back and no room for mistakes.

Coulson continued, "Fitzsimmons will act as the Best Man and the Maid of Honour; That means that, Fitz" the senior agent turned to look at the Scotsman, "You'll be with Agent Ward leading up to the ceremony, and you'll need to take that opportunity to try and identify any energy signatures in the church and see if they match the readings you got from the wedding bands." Fitz nodded.

"And Simmons, you'll be with Skye on the other side of the church before the wedding, meaning you'll need to do the same."

"Got it" She answered, a determined look settling on her features.

"Skye, Ward: you two will prepare for the wedding as usual, we don't want anyone from the church getting suspicious. You'll go through with the ceremony as planned, and then proceed into the priest's office to sign the registry."

"Now, as you know, this is the most dangerous part of the entire operation. We have been unable to determine exactly what takes place during the registry signing, and as per the Masterson Church protocols, only the two of you will be admitted to the room; meaning you're on your own."

The pair nodded.

"Is everyone clear on their role in tomorrow's mission?" Coulson finished.

A chorus of "yes" erupted from around the room, and with a final note of encouragement, the team was dismissed. Skye was starving, and headed straight for the kitchen, with Ward and Fitzsimmons hot on her tail; apparently all of them had been thinking about their stomachs.

A small while later all of them were seated around the breakfast bar with some kind of food or another: Skye with her sandwich and Fitz with his bowl of cereal. The four agents made light conversation with one another, laughing occasionally – it was just another night on the Bus. That is, until Fitz ruined it.

"So, have you two been practicing?" Fitz asked with a smirk.

Skye raised an eyebrow at him, "Practicing what? All the vows are standard – all we have to do is repeat them after the priest. Not exactly the most challenging part of the mission"

Dismissing him, Skye returned to her food, taking a healthy bite out of her sandwich.

"No, I don't mean the vows..." Fitz continued mischievously. "I'm talking about the kiss."

Skye choked. Literally.

The bite of her sandwich that she had been chewing went down the wrong way, and she began spluttering and gasping for air. Ward looked over at her, concern etched all over his face. "Skye!"

He got up and made his way over to her, coaching her to cough whilst rubbing her back. After several moments Skye finally recovered; that didn't stop Ward worrying though. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah" she squeaked out, "But I think I'm done eating" she finished, trying to inject some humour into the situation.

Ward wasn't buying it though, "Come on," he said, helping her up from the chair, "I think you're done for the day too."Skye nodded weakly as she let him escort her from the room, not missing the dirty look that Ward shot Fitz before they exited the kitchen.

Back in her bunk, Skye sat down on her bed letting out a long sigh. "What's wrong?" Ward questioned, the concerned expression returning to his face.

"I just..." she hesitated before continuing. "I, um, I kind of forgot about that part of the ceremony." She met his eyes nervously.

"You mean the kiss" he finished for her; letting out a sigh of his own before joining her on the bed.

"That's the one" she hit back. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, it's not exactly like we can call it off. I don't exactly like the idea of walking into Coulson's office to tell him we can't go through with the op because you didn't realise we'd have to kiss at the end."

"Wait a minute. _I _forgot about the kissing part. Did you?" she asked him as her start started to beat faster in her chest.

He hesitated before he answered, "It may have crossed my mind."

"And you didn't think to mention it!" Skye replied incredulously

"Why would I? I thought you would have realised it too. I didn't think I would need to say anything!"

"So, this completely normal for you? You're just going to kiss me tomorrow like it's nothing?"

"Of course it's not normal! But it's like I said before, there's no getting out of it now."

Skye looked away from him to put her head it her hands. Holy crap. She didn't know if she could go through with this. Things had been changing between her and Ward for a while now, and it was getting harder and harder for her to pretend that they were still the same.

She wanted to be with him. Bad.

Skye knew they could never be together. Not while they both worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and she had accepted that. She might not get to tell him how she felt about him, but she did get to be with him every day, and that was far better than never seeing him at all. But to have to kiss him – not just that, but to kiss him _during_ an operation. She didn't know if she could pull it off.

Basically, they were asking her to kiss the man she wants to be with as though she truly _does_ want to be with him; all the while, trying to prove to her team members that she _doesn't_ want to be with him. Damn, this was confusing.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. She brought her head back up to look at him.

"The operation" she answered wearily.

"The operation or the kiss?"

"Can I say both?"

He let out a light laugh, and continued. "Okay, so, what is it about the kiss that has got you so worried?"

No way was she telling him the truth. So, thinking quickly she made something up that sounded convincing even to her own ears. "We're supposed to be engaged, right? As in, spending the rest of our lives together." He nodded.

"Well," she continued, "And I'm just working off assumptions here; but, I think if this were happening in real life, we would have kissed already. And now, I'm just worried that tomorrow, we're going to be up there and end up doing the most awkward kiss anyone has ever seen!"

"So you think Fitz was right? We should...practice? He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Skye couldn't help but laugh at him, the tone is his voice, right down to his facial expression – this was clearly not somewhere he had been expecting this conversation to go.

"When you put it that way, no. Practicing kissing? A little junior high, don't you think?"

"Something like that" he answered, the tension leaving his body. Funnily enough though, he wasn't sure which prospect he'd been more afraid of: that she would want to practice kissing him, or that she _wouldn't_.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Skye was the first to speak. "I guess you should go. Isn't this bad luck or something?" she joked.

He chuckled at that, "Yeah, wouldn't want any bad luck in _our_ marriage." He quipped back as he moved to stand; Skye stood with him, and the two of them moved towards the door.

"Good night" he said as he opened the door to exit her room.

"Night" she echoed, and turned away from him to retreat to her bed.

She had barely moved two steps before he called her back, "Oh, Skye?"

She turned back to face him just as he snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her towards him. The kiss was short, but fierce, with both parties trying to get as much out of the moment as they could.

All too soon, he pulled back from her, shooting her a shy smile before he left the room. Skye could do nothing but stand there, still slightly in shock. Slowly, as her heart rate returned to a more normal rhythm, a smile began to break out on her face as she recalled the moment they had just shared. Suddenly, she wasn't so worried about the wedding anymore, in fact, she quickly realised something:

She couldn't wait until tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi everyone, and welcome to the wedding of Skye and Ward. :P**

**A special shout out to ****NCISlover3**** for your suggestion. I did incorporate your idea into this chapter, maybe not exactly the way you expected, but I hope you like it anyway. **

**The same goes for everyone else, I hope you like it. :)**

She had ruined the dress. Oh god.

Skye had no idea how, or what had happened to the gown, but she could tell that something was not right with it.

"SIMMONS!" she screeched, going into a panic.

The British girl raced into the room, trying to find the source of Skye's alarm. "What? What's wrong?"

Skye was perched on the edge of a chair in the early stages of hyperventilation, unable to verbalise her distress - so she pointed to it instead. Shakily she extended her hand, using her index finger to relay the problem.

Simmons' eyes followed, and fell upon Skye's dress. The biochemist understood instantly. Whilst the outside of the dress still looked exactly the same as it had in the shop, the inside was now carrying a pitch black lining in the bodice area. As hard as she tried not to, Jemma was unable to contain her laughter.

Skye, still hyperventilating, narrowed her eyes at the girl. Simmons' laughter died down slightly as she made her way over to Skye in an attempt to calm her down. "Skye? Skye! You need to calm down."

"But..." Skye managed to sputter, "The dress... I ruined the dress."

"You didn't do anything to the dress, Skye. _I_ did"

Skye stopped hyperventilating instantly, purely for the purpose of yelling at Simmons, "YOU WHAT?!"

"Calm down, calm down! It's not going to change anything about the look. I just thought that it would be best, for safety sake, if you had an extra bit of protection in case something goes wrong today."

"So you..." Skye still had no idea what Simmons was really saying here, "What exactly _did_ you do?"

"I sewed a Kevlar lining into the bodice." Simmons replied simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

Skye was stunned into silence. On the one hand she was still recovering from the shock of seeing an alien, black lining on the inside of her dress; whilst on the other hand she was completely touched that Simmons had gone to so much effort to keep her safe during the mission.

Unsure of exactly which of these things she should say out loud to her friend, the first thing Skye found coming out of her mouth was, "You sew?"

Simmons chuckled slightly as she nodded her head, "And" she said slyly, "Fitz can knit".

"No. Way"

"Mmhm. You remember that scarf I was wearing when we went to Greenland?" Skye nodded. "That was all Fitz"

Skye burst out laughing, her earlier panic completely forgotten. Simmons laughed along with her, glad to see a smile on her friend's face.

"But you can _never_ tell him that I told you that!"

"Deal" Skye replied, still caught up in her laughter.

"Good. Now, shall we get you dressed?"

* * *

Ward was just about to begin work on his tie when Fitz walked back into the room, wearing a black and white suit that mirrored his own.

"Any luck with the energy readings?" Ward asked, returning his attention to his tie.

"Depends what you mean by luck," the scientist answered. "I just did a quick scan of the alter and found an energy signature identical to the wedding bands we tested at Masterson."

"Where was the signature coming from?"

"Wedding bands" Fitz supplied. "Yours and Skye's to be exact."

"So, what you're telling me is that Skye and I are basically about to willing _wear _an 0-8-4?"

"Exactly"

"Well that sounds perfect" Ward replied sarcastically, as he put the finishing touches on his tie. "Alright, let's go, Fitz"

"Where are we going?"

Ward shot him an "isn't it obvious look" as he moved towards the door, "My Wedding."

* * *

With 5 minutes before the wedding march was due to start playing Coulson poked his head in the door to Skye's room just as Simmons finished securing the veil on the would-be bride.

Simmons wore her floor length bridesmaid dress well, the black material making her red hair all the more striking in the simple up-do she had done. Coulson couldn't help but smirk slightly; Fitz was going to lose it.

"Ready to go?" Coulson asked from the doorway.

"Just finished now actually," Simmons answered cheerily.

Coulson stepped into the room, "And how is the bride doing?"

Skye turned to face him, and he had to admit to being somewhat taken aback for a moment. The white gown fitted Skye perfectly, and Simmons had a done a beautiful job of styling her hair into a delicate up-do. As usual, Skye's make-up was simple and Coulson momentarily forgot that this was a mission.

The girl standing before him now looked every bit the blushing bride she was pretending to be.

She sent him a brief smile, "Well, if you ignore the fact that I'm afraid to breathe for fear of disturbing this hairstyle, and that my gun is wedged somewhere incredibly uncomfortable, I'm doing great!"

"Well then, after that unnecessary piece of information, let's do this shall we?" He said, extending his elbow out to her.

She accepted his arm, and moved with him towards the door; Simmons trailing after them with both the bridal bouquet and one for herself.

"Are the "guests" here?" asked Skye.

"They finished arriving about 10 minutes ago" replied Coulson, ushering her out the door.

In order to make their ceremony all the more convincing, S.H.I.E.L.D. had arranged for about 50 strangers to come in and pose as friends and family of her and Ward; which only mounted the pressure for the operation to go well – because whilst some of those strangers were S.H.I.E.L.D., some of them weren't, and Skye refused to be responsible for any harm done to innocent people.

Which was exactly why she was about to walk down the aisle and sell it. By the time the priest pronounced her and Ward as man and wife, there wouldn't be a single person in the room who didn't believe their charade. She would make sure of it.

* * *

Ward didn't even bother trying to keep the smirk from his face as he watched Fitz's reaction to seeing Simmons walk down the aisle. He figured it was probably for the best anyway, considering this was _supposed_ to be the happiest day of his life, and all.

Ward observed how the Scotsman's eyes never left the Maid of Honour as she came to take her place opposite him at the altar; sometimes Ward wished they would just stop dancing around it and admit that they were crazy about each other. Then again, if they did that, he would probably have to do the same with Skye.

His musings were interrupted as the wedding march began to play, and he turned to look down the aisle. His heart stopped. Was this real? Was he even awake right now? He wasn't sure, nor did he care. The only thing he could think about right now was the vision he saw walking towards him.

He'd never cared much for weddings, never understood the big deal. Now he did. Because at this moment, he had never seen anything or anyone look more beautiful. She approached him slowly, clutching Coulson's arm in one hand and her bouquet in the other; the dress she had chosen was stunning, as was everything else about her appearance.

She looked up warily, and their eyes locked. She smiled at him, a shy smile – much like the one he had given her the night before after he kissed her. He returned her smile, their eyes never parting the entire time it took her to reach him at the altar.

After what seemed like forever, and also no time at all, she was standing next to him and Coulson was placing a small kiss on her cheek as part of his 'Father of the Bride' role. Without thinking he took her hands in his, and positioned himself so that they were facing each other. In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered the priest telling them that it was customary for the couple to face him until the ring exchange, but Ward couldn't care less about that right now. Only Skye mattered.

The ceremony continued smoothly; the pair were able to repeat their vows perfectly, his eyes never leaving hers once. When the time came to place the wedding band on her finger he begrudgingly had to release one of her hands, just as she had to release his come her turn. It was a short intermission though, as he made sure that both of her hands were firmly encased in his again as soon as possible.

The world was around them was a haze, and it was a miracle that the priest's words managed to filter through to them. He wasn't sure exactly what was being said, but he knew that the ceremony was approaching its end. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for since last night.

"_You may now kiss the bride_"

Finally! Still holding one of her hands in his, he took the other and brought it up to cup her face; the first kiss was short and gentle as the pair pulled away shortly afterwards to look at one another. A smile broke out on both their faces, and Ward quickly pulled her back to him for a kiss that was much less chaste, and probably not very appropriate for a church. Skye didn't seem all that bothered though, after all, she _was_ kissing him back quite enthusiastically.

When oxygen became an issue, the pair broke apart once more, and suddenly became aware of their surroundings once more. The "guests" were clapping excitedly, some of them even cheering. Coulson, May and Fitzsimmons approached the newlyweds in a show of congratulations, when in actual fact each of them took the opportunity to whisper a piece of advice for the mission in the ear of the two operatives.

After several minutes of hand-shaking and hugging, the priest approached Skye and Ward – who were still holding hands, and smiling like a pair of fools.

"I think it's time we should sign the register, don't you?"

The pair were brought back to reality, both their smiles becoming slightly forced, "Of course!" Skye answered enthusiastically, but he could see the worry that was beginning to show on her face. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her as they followed the celebrant.

This was it. The moment they had been leading up to weeks now. And he realised, that despite all of their earlier joking, this was serious. For him and Skye this could very well be a case of "Till death do us part".


	7. Chapter 7

They had signed the register. They were now legally married.

Or, at least they were under their cover names.

And now, as Skye and Ward stood together in the Masterson office, they were left wondering if all of this trouble had been for nothing.

The priest glanced up at them and smiled as he finished signing and dating their marriage certificate, "Well, it's now my pleasure to congratulate you on officially becoming husband and wife." The older man stood from his place at his desk, and held out the certificate for one of them to take; Ward was the first to move in. "Thank you." He replied with a smile as he accepted the document, "We're very lucky." He snaked his hand around Skye's waist and pulled her towards him for emphasis.

"So, I guess it's off to the reception now." Skye said cheerily, "Thank you for everything, Father. The ceremony was beautiful."

At her words, Ward began to move them both towards the door, only to be stopped by the priest.

"Hold on just a minute there. We're not quite finished here."

Skye and Ward both felt their heart rates increase. This was what they had been waiting for.

Ward planted a confused, yet happy expression on his face, "What do you mean? I thought you said the marriage was official..." he held the marriage certificate up to highlight his point.

The priest let out a small chuckle. A condescending chuckle. A chuckle that seriously pissed Skye off. It seemed like something that a villain in an incredibly cheesy movie would do, and she had to fight hard to suppress the eye roll she felt coming on.

Not noticing Skye's internal struggles, the man continued, "Well, yes the marriage is official _legally_, but in our earlier meetings, the two of you seemed to be quite adamant about wanting to married into the Masterson church. And I'm afraid, if you want your marriage to be official in _our_ eyes, there's one more matter that we'll need to take care of..."

"Of course," Skye supplied, "What do we need to do?"

Ward was impressed; Skye was putting up a fantastic front. If it wasn't for the fact that her nails were digging into his skin where she had put her arm around his waist, he would never have been able to pick her distress.

"Excellent," The priest smiled at them, and this time it was more than a little creepy. It was if he'd just thrown all subtlety out the window. "Well, the whole thing is quite simple really – you've already accepted our wedding bands as a token of our congratulations, and now we simply seal off the ceremony with a light toast."

"That sounds great," Ward responded enthusiastically, "Um... where are the glasses?"

"Oh, they're not here, neither is the wine," the celebrant chuckled to himself _yet_ _again_; seriously? Skye wanted to punch this guy so bad.

"They're kept downstairs. It's a sacred place, where only the Masterson Clergymen are permitted to enter. Keeps it pure, you see."

"Wow. This toast is sounding more and more like a huge honour" Skye said, remembering to leave out the sarcasm at the very last minute. Damn, that was close.

"Oh, it is. I'll just go and prepare everything. It shouldn't take long – you two just stay here, and I'll be back soon." And with that, the creepy old priest exited the room, closing the door after him.

Skye smirked slightly, "Is this guy for real?"

"Certainly seems that way," Ward answered. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Well, first of all, I think you should take _that_" she gestured to the wedding band he now wore on his left hand, "off. And put this one on." Ward watched in slight amazement as Skye pulled an identical wedding band to the one he was wearing from her bra, and placed it in his hands.

"Okay, first of all, how long have you been keeping this in there? And secondly, why do you have this? It's exactly the same as all the other Masterson wedding bands; as if it makes a difference which one I wear. And thirdly..."

"Shut up," she silenced him, "We may not have much time. Long story short, Fitz told Coulson about the energy signatures matching our rings, so Coulson pulled some strings and managed swipe this spare band from the church. Then Fitz got a hold of it and deactivated it."

"So, this ring has no energy signature coming off it?"

Skye nodded, "Exactly, so hurry up and put it on!"

As he swapped the band over, he looked over expecting to see Skye doing the same. She wasn't.

"Wait. Where's yours?"

Skye hesitated, meaning he probably wasn't going to like what she was about to say. "Um. Well, there wasn't much time, and Coulson was only able to get one ring – and this one fits you, not me."

"What?" He was not happy.

"Oh, and another thing," she continued, ignoring the hate face he was currently giving her. "You can't drink this wine he's about to give us either."

"Of course not," he looked at her as though that much had been obvious. She smiled at him in relief; she had clearly been expecting him to argue, which meant...

"Wait a minute; you just said that _I_ shouldn't drink the wine. As in _me_, not _we.._."

Skye shot him an exasperated look, "Well one of us has to drink it! And I figure it's probably best if it's the one of us who is still wearing the wacky wedding ring."

Oh hell no. No way was he going to let her do this. "So, you're planning to sacrifice yourself, is that what you're saying?" He made no attempt to keep the anger from his voice.

"I'm not sacrificing myself, Ward. I'm completing the mission. And you know that you would do exactly the same thing if it were you."

"But it's not me. This is you, and I'll die before I let you put yourself in danger like this." He took a step towards her, leaving very little space between them.

Skye let out a sigh, and took his hands in hers. "Grant,"

She called him Grant. She hardly ever did that. Dammit, this really was bad.

She continued, barely noticing the way his breath hitched as she called him by his first name, "These people have taken six couples; and that's just the ones that we know about. You and me, the reason we did all this is so that we could stop them. And this is the best way for us to do it. Besides, with you in the all-clear you'll be in the best position to rescue me if need be."

She tried to make light of it; tried to make their current situation sound like it might be funny. He didn't laugh. Instead he took another step towards her, completely closing the gap between them, and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I don't want you to do this."

"I know," she said softly, looking up to meet his gaze, "But it's the right thing to do."

He didn't say anything else. He knew he couldn't change her mind, and what bothered him the most about that was that he knew she was right. So instead, he merely released her hands and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her into a tight embrace. She responded by wrapping her own arms around his neck, and burrowed her face into his chest.

It wasn't long after that that the priest returned, carrying with him three sacred looking chalices and a decanter of red liquid. They broke apart as he entered, but Ward insisted on holding her hand; he couldn't remember a time when she had gripped his hand so tightly. The priest went through the motions, and finally presented them both with a silver chalice each, leaving a smaller, golden one for himself.

The celebrant then went on to make some kind of extravagant toast that all but faded into the background. The only thing Ward could focus on was Skye, and what she was about to do.

Finally, the older man finished his speech and invited the couple to drink from their cups. Skye turned towards her partner and smiled slightly.

"To us," she toasted, and brought the cup to her lips.


	8. Chapter 8

"What happened after you drank the toast?" Coulson asked.

Skye shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing."

The team found themselves in the war room once again discussing the outcome of the mission, all of them still in their wedding clothes.

Simmons interjected here, "Did it taste strange at all?"

"No stranger than church wine usually tastes. Honestly guys, I'm fine. I think we need to consider that maybe that whole 'toast' thing was actually part of the Masterson Church ceremony and isn't related to the missing couples at all."

"Maybe," Coulson replied, "But we can't rule it out just yet."

"I could run some tests." Simmons perked up, the team all turning their heads to look at her. "Well, Skye has ingested the wine, so I could easily run some tests and find out what it really is. At least then we'd know for sure."

"Do it" Coulson ordered with a nod of his head. "Let me know when you have something."

With that the senior agent left the room, signalling that everyone else could do the same. Fitz let out a sigh of relief, "Finally! I can get out of this monkey suit."

Skye chuckled at him, "But Fitz, I thought you always wanted a monkey – now all your need is the hat."

Fitz shot her a dirty look, "I'm gonna let that one slide considering how you risked your life and all, but don't think I won't get you for the next one." He sent her a comforting smile and began to head for the exit. Simmons wasn't far behind him when she turned to Skye and added, "I'll meet you down in the lab. I just want to change first."

"Sounds great" Skye replied, and watched as the two scientists began chattering to one another as they walked away. They were so adorable.

"So you really think you're fine?" Ward asked her. It was the first time he'd spoken in quite a while, and Skye couldn't help but feel like he was still made at her. She turned to him and put on the happiest face she could muster, "Yep. Completely fine. In fact, I'm better than fine – you might even say that I'm doing great."

He didn't laugh at her attempt at humour, it was understandable considering it had sounded forced even to her own ears. She sighed, "Are you mad at me? Cause I thought we agreed that I did what was best for the mission..."

"I'm not mad at you." He answered, offering up no alternative.

"Okay then," Skye continued, almost hesitantly. "Care to tell me what's wrong then?"

She watched as several emotions passed over his face, none of them staying there long enough for her to identify them. He opened his mouth as if to say something. And then closed it. They stood there in silence for several more seconds before he opened his mouth once more, "I...I... I think I'll go get changed."

And without saying anything more, Ward practically ran from the room, leaving Skye with absolutely no idea as to what had just happened.

* * *

Back in her own bunk, Skye was feeling much more at home for having changed into a pair of jeans and simple t-shirt – the gown may have made her feel like a princess, but there really was no substitute for comfort. She had just finished putting her wedding dress back on its hanger when the door to her room slide open, and Ward entered with a determined look on his face, swiftly closing the door behind him.

"You could have died."

Skye sent him a sympathetic look, and took a step towards him, "But I didn't. No one did. Come on, Ward, we do dangerous things every day, and I've never seen you so bothered by it. What's different this time?"

"We're different"

"What do you mean 'we're different'?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," he said softly, inching towards her slowly.

Skye froze. Was he really doing this? "Maybe I don't know," she answered, meeting his gaze, "Why don't you tell me?"

Ward didn't say a word. Instead, he reached out and pulled her to him, kissing her as though it could be the last time. Skye could barely hide her surprise but she recovered quickly, matching his efforts. The kiss was filled with passion and longing, and neither of them wanted it to end.

But Skye had to know something before she let it continue, "Wait," she pulled away, breathing heavily, "We're partners. This could... this could –"

"Ruin everything," he finished for her, his breathing every bit as laboured as hers.

"But you don't care..."

"Are you saying you do?" In that moment, Ward looked incredibly vulnerable, clearly terrified of the answer she might give.

"Right now? No" And with that she brought his lips back to hers, and proceeded his kiss him slowly; doing all that she could to show him how deep her feelings for him were. He responded in kind, deepening the kiss.

Her short height was a problem. Even though she was on her tippy toes, it still wasn't enough for him. They could do far better than this, he was sure of it. Keeping his lips locked with hers, he bent his knees slightly, and moved his hands down to the backs of her thighs before lifting her up and allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist; effectively securing her in place. Much better. They continued their exploration of each other's mouths, occasionally gasping for air – stupid oxygen deprivation.

When Skye began tugging on the edges of his shirt, he realised that the bed would be a far better alternative; he didn't want to drop her. Moving them over towards her small bunk, he was just about to lay her down when they were interrupted, _yet again_, by that stupid, s_tupid _intercom.

"_Skye, I'm down in the lab when you're ready_."

Ward let out a growl, "Why does everyone on this goddamn plane have such terrible timing?!"

Skye, who was equally disgruntled at the interruption, couldn't help but laugh slightly, "Don't be mad at Simmons, she's just doing her job after all."

"That doesn't mean that her timing isn't incredibly inconvenient."

Skye sent him a sympathetic smile and begrudgingly unwrapped her legs from around his waist. "Guess I'd better go see what the creepy priest fed me," she said with a sigh.

That sobered him, and suddenly he didn't mind that Simmons had interrupted them. Skye could still be in danger, and his first priority would be to eliminate that danger.

She was opening the door to her bunk when he stopped her and grabbed her hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"What?" she asked, somewhat confused, "I _have_ to go, but we can pick this up again later," she finished, somewhat mischievously. He smirked at that as he ushered her out the door, their hands still linked.

"Oh believe me, I will definitely be asking for a rain check. But for right now, I'm with you."

"What? You're just going to sit there and watch while Simmons does her boring tests on me?"

"Yep"

"Why?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow up at him.

"Because," he answered, giving her hand a light squeeze, "We're partners."

**A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you like this chapter, once again, I think of it as more of a filler. I'm planning on adding to the actual plot point in the next one. **

**As for the story itself, I don't have a specific plan, but I feel like maybe we're about two thirds of the way there. Only time will tell I guess. **

**Anyway, as always, thanks so much for your support, and I hope you're enjoying it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi everyone, I'm glad you're enjoying the story – I am having a fantastic time writing it. **

**I know I've been crazy with the updates, and I just wanted to let you know that you may have to wait a few days for the next one because I have exams on Monday and Tuesday, and really need to knuckle down. **

**Don't worry too much though, cause when it comes to Skye and Ward – I really can't stay away for long. **

**Hope you like the chapter. **

"Oh my god!" Simmons exclaimed.

"What?" Skye asked, beginning to panic. Simmons had decided to re-scan the energy signature coming from Skye's ring, and was now staring wide eyed at her readings.

"It's the ring!" Simmons answered, still trying to absorb what her data was telling her. "The signature, it's changing. The wine you drank, it seems to have contained some sort of chemical compound that's interfering with the energy from the ring..."

"What do you mean 'interfering'?" Ward interjected, a look of fear in his eyes. He looked over at Skye and saw his own fear mirrored in her eyes.

"I don't know!" Simmons replied exasperated. "I can't explain it, but it's like... like... Oh my god." Simmons paused and looked at Skye, nothing but seriousness in her expression. "Take the ring off."

Skye looked at her confused, "Why? Simmons, What's happening?!"

"The wine," Simmons supplied, "It was just a front! They needed you to drink it so that you would ingest the compound. That way it could be metabolised into your bloodstream and activate the ring."

"Activate?" Ward pressed.

"Yes! That's what's happening now. The ring isn't giving off an unknown signature anymore, it's changed."

"Changed to what?!" Skye practically yelled at her, her heart beating out of her chest.

"To a beacon. They're coming for you."

Skye didn't need any more information; she gripped the ring on her finger and yanked. It didn't move. She tried again, still nothing. "Guys, I think we might have a problem here..."

Ward and Simmons froze as they realised the ring wasn't coming off.

"That's impossible," panic beginning to seep into Ward's voice as he spoke. "When I put it on your finger it was loose."

"Well, it's definitely not loose anymore!" Skye returned, still trying to rip the jewellery from her hand.

Simmons returned to her data, "Bloody hell!"

"What?" Ward and Skye demanded in unison.

"It's the compound. It's increased the blood flow to your finger – that's why the ring won't come off."

"Can't you do something?" Ward asked desperately.

"I don't know! Without knowing the identity of the compound I can't reverse its effects – and we don't have enough time."

"Wait a minute," said Skye, pausing in her attempts to remove the wedding band, "You said they were coming for me, but we're on the Bus. It's not like they can exactly break in..."

Simmons sent her a sympathetic smile, "It would be nice if that were the case. Let's just focus on getting that ring off, shall we?" She went back to looking at her computer for answers, avoiding the eyes of Skye and Ward.

"What do you mean that's not the case?" Ward asked slowly.

Simmons let out a sigh, and begrudgingly turned to face them, "Well... when I said they were coming for you, I... Well, that wasn't entirely accurate."

Skye sobered, her breath hitching in her chest. Simmons continued, speaking as gently as she could.

"They're not going to come and get you, Skye. You're going to go to them."

"Over my dead body," Ward scoffed; he even smirked slightly, "As if I'm going to let Skye just walk off the Bus with that _thing_ still on her finger."

"I'm afraid it's not exactly a case of "walking", Agent Ward. It's more like... evaporating."

"I don't understand," Ward asked, more confused than ever. Skye, who had been silent for some time, merely swallowed thickly.

"The ring," Simmons explained. "It, well, the energy signature, it's hard to explain..."

"Just say it, Simmons!" Ward was quickly losing his patience.

"It's a teleportation device."

Ward fell silent, allowing a heavy tension to fall on the room. Skye was the first to break it.

"So, what you're saying is, I'm going to disappear..." It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact.

"No." Ward spoke up, quickly coming to stand in front of where Skye was seated on the examination table. He grabbed her shoulders, "No. I won't let that happen. You're not going anywhere."

She looked up to meet his eyes, unable to stop the tear making its way down her cheek. She attempted a smile as she sniffled. Removing his hands from her shoulders and bringing them up to cup her face, he used his thumb to gently wipe the tear away. They shared the intimate moment briefly, before Skye gave a quick nod of her head and turned to look at Simmons.

"So, what do we do?" Skye asked, a renewed sense of determination in her voice.

Simmons, who was slightly shocked at the romantic exchange she had just witnessed, managed to recover quickly. "Well, first of all, I'm going to do this..." she walked over to her supply station and loaded a capsule into something that looked very much like what Coulson had used to inject Ward with "truth serum" during her first encounter with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Without another word, Simmons walked back towards Skye and promptly stabbed her in the arm.

"Ow!" Skye yelled, "Simmons, what the hell?!"

"Sorry," Simmons apologised, "But I had to."

"What was that?" Ward asked her, eyeing her warily.

"A tracking device. If Skye does happen to disappear before we can figure this out, we should still be able to find her."

"Well, thanks," said Skye, still rubbing where Simmons had injected her, "But a bit more warning would have been nice!"

"Okay, so what now?" Ward asked. Simmons couldn't help but notice that he was now holding Skye's hand; she smiled inwardly at that – it had certainly taken them long enough.

"Now, I just have to identify this bloody compound so I can reverse its effects," Simmons replied as she made her way over to the intercom.

"_Fitz, I need your help; can you come down to the lab please"_

The scientist turned back to face the two agents, "Fitz should be able to help me figure this out faster," she offered, moving back to stand in front of her microscope.

"And, ah, how long do you think that's going to take?" asked Skye, the panic starting to return to her voice.

"I don't know," replied Simmons, "But, I swear, we will figure this out, Skye. I promise."

Skye nodded before beginning to fidget with her ring once more; desperately trying to claw it off her finger, becoming more and more distressed.

"Skye?" Ward gave her a questioning look, the worry on his brow deepening. "Skye, what's wrong?"

"It's getting hot. The ring. It's starting to burn me." She answered, the pain becoming evident in her expression.

Ward shared her panic, and tried to assist her in removing the wretched ring, "Simmons, what's happening?" he demanded.

Simmons watched on in horror as Skye began to cry out. "SIMMONS!" Ward shouted at her.

"I don't know!" Simmons answered, scrambling back to her energy readings. "The signature, it's locked on to her, it's locked on to Skye!"

Ward didn't hear her though, he was too busy doing everything possible to try and calm Skye. "Skye? Skye, listen to me. It's okay, you're okay. I'm here." He soothed, grasping one of her hands in his, whilst using the other to cup her face – forcing her to meet his eyes. "I've got you, okay. I won't let you go, alright? Skye?"

Skye's breathing was laboured, as he squeezed her eyes shut. "It...it" she gasped between breaths, "It tingles." As soon as she got the last word out, the ring on her finger began to emit a bright orange glow.

The glow stretched out from the band and began to engulf Skye as Ward and Simmons watched on in horror. "No!" Ward yelled at her before pulling her into a tight embrace, "No, I won't let you go!"

Skye clutched at him, desperate for him to be the thing that anchored her to the Bus. It wasn't working though, she could feel it; feel herself fading away as the tingling sensation got steadily worse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, as the light surrounded her completely and she disappeared all together.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi Everyone, **

**I'm ****_so_**** sorry for the wait; you have no idea how hard it has been to stay away from the computer for the past couple of days. However, my first exams are over and done with and I don't have any more until next week – meaning I should be able to update a bit more regularly. **

**So, without further ado, I give you chapter 10 – I hope it's worth the wait! *fingers crossed***

Skye woke with a start.

Black and white spots danced across her vision as the room around her shifted in and out of focus. Finally, the world righted itself, and she was able to see where she was. Disappointment flooded through her as she realised that wherever she was, it was no where she recognised.

As Skye looked around the room she had the sudden urge to roll her eyes at her captors' lack of imagination: cold, bare concrete floor surrounded by flimsy, beige walls and a single door. No windows, no mirrors – just a dated surveillance camera blinking at her from its spot in the corner of the ceiling.

It was at this point in her assessment of the situation that Skye realised she was seated – well, not so much seated, as bound to a chair – an incredibly uncomfortable chair. Glancing down, she could see where the zip-ties were cutting into her wrists, offering no possibility for escape. "Could this get _any_ worse?" She thought to herself. As if on cue, the door knob turned with a squeak and a man entered her prison.

It was the priest. The older man was still dressed in his church robes, however all traces of kindness had been wiped from his face. When Skye looked at him, the only thing she could detect was an eerie-coldness, that only served to make his piercing eyes more empty, and his stony expression all the more hard. This man was no priest.

"You're awake, I see." His voice was as unwelcoming as the rest of him, and Skye couldn't help the small shiver that ran up her spine.

"What do you want with me?" As hard as she tried to keep her voice firm and confident, it still came out sounding rather small and slightly scared. Dammit.

"Well, I had hoped that you and your _husband_ would become part of our cause, but I see now that your marriage was nothing but a ploy to infiltrate our ranks. Tell me, who do you work for?"

She snorted slightly, "As if I'm going to tell you that."

"Tell me, don't tell me – it makes no difference; I'm sure you've figured out by now that we're going to kill you either way."

Skye's stomach dropped. She knew that there was every chance they were planning on killing her, but to have it stated so bluntly was entirely sobering. Trying to hide the fear welling up inside her, she decided to prolong the inevitable: if she was going to be killed, she at least wanted to know why.

"So, do I at least get to know what I'm dying for? What is 'the cause'?"

"The Masterson church strives to better the human race."

Skye scoffed slightly, "Oh, so you're evil _and_ crazy. Good to know..."

Without warning, a sharp pain ripped across her cheek as the priest backhanded her with more force than she would have thought possible for a man of his age; and for a brief moment she was glad that she was tied to the chair, otherwise she would have been sprawled across the concrete.

"Blasphemy is not well tolerated here in the Masterson church." The man offered up simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to backhand your latest prisoner.

"I can tell," replied Skye, still reeling from the pain now radiating through the entire left side of her face. "So, how exactly are you planning to "better the human race"? And why do you need to abduct married couples to do it?"

"The world has changed; the Masterson church has known this for some time now, and the alien invasion of New York only served as a blatant reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"A reminder that we are weak. _Humans_. Every single one of us is nothing but an ant waiting to be stepped on by some superior race. We need to be better; we _need_ to evolve if we have any hope of surviving in the universe."

"But why do you need the couples?" Skye asked again, her frustration seeping through into her voice. Why was it always the crazy bad-guys that needed to dress their entire plan up in some monologue? Didn't they realise that there's nothing better than just saying it straight...?

"The couples are the conduit. You think the Masterson church is just a religious organisation, but you're wrong. We have our faith, that is true enough. But we also have science, and supporters to our cause. When the alien invaders were defeated, there were so many bodies; so many alien corpses just waiting to be studied." The priest began to pace around the room as he continued his rant.

"We took those bodies, we studied them and we found it. We found what made them so superior, and we cultivated it – right from their DNA. But that was the easy part. It's getting it _into_ us that has been the real struggle. We tried working with individuals – genetic transfers, DNA manipulation, everything. Nothing was working. Until now."

He came to stand in front of her once more, and leaned towards her, resting his hands on the arms of the chair, "You see, we finally figured it out. You can't replace DNA, oh no, you have to _grow_ it." Skye struggled to maintain a distance between them as her captor brought his face closer and closer to hers; bringing his lips to her ear, he whispered darkly, "And _that_ is why we need the couples."

Skye gasped as she fought back her sudden urge to vomit. The priest chuckled slightly as he withdrew from her, backing away.

Skye swallowed thickly as everything settled into the place in her head, "So, you abduct couples, and you – you," She could barely bring herself to say the words out loud, "You're forcing them to have children. Alien children..."

The priest glared at her with a look of disgust, "Of course not, that would be an abomination! We are merely forging the way for the creation of _enhanced_ humans. We have provided the means for our conduits to produce _human_ children with favourable aspects of another race. And then those children will grow up, and have their own children, and so on; and then, by the time a few generations have gone by, the human race will have advanced. And we will no longer need to fear an alien threat."

"Call it what you want," Skye spat, "It's still disgusting, and it's still wrong. And I don't care if you decide to shoot me right now, or torture me to death, but either way, my team are still out there, and I promise you – they _will_ stop you."

She was expecting to be backhanded again, but all she got was another chuckle. How she hated that sound! She dared to glance at the older man, and saw exactly was she was expecting – a look of utter cruelty; and once again, she was unable to stop the shiver than ran up her spine.

The priest clicked his tongue at her, "Death? I don't believe I ever said you were going to die, now did I?"

Skye raised an eyebrow at him, "You said you were going to kill me. You were pretty clear about that part actually."

"Kill _you_, yes. But not take your life. Why waste a potential conduit..."

"What?" Skye's voice broke as fear began to overtake her completely.

"You stood in my church, young lady. You recited vows, you accepted the Masterson ring, and you drank our toast. And that means something to us. In doing what you did, you have committed to our faith, and that means you have committed to our cause. Of course you're not going to assist us willingly, but we've prepared for that."

"What do you mean?" Skye pressed, a single tear beginning to make its way down her face. She was completely scared now; she wanted to go back to the Bus, she wanted to be safe, and most of all she wanted Ward.

Her heart began to ache as soon as she thought of him. Oh God. She was never going to see him again, she would never again get to hold his hand, or kiss him, or tell him how she really felt. How did she feel? Who was she kidding? She loved him.

There had been a spark between them since the very first moment, and since then it had only intensified. And now, sitting here, knowing that she had lost him, she could no longer deny her feelings. She loved that man, and she would never get to tell him. And that realisation was almost as painful as the reality of what was about to happen to her.

The priest smiled a sadistic smile as he watched her begin to crumble. "We may not know your real name, or who you work for, but that doesn't matter. Because we are going to take your mind, and we're going to rewrite everything you are. By the time we're done with you, the person you are right now, _she_ won't exist. You will be a new person, a person of our own design, and a willing participant towards the cause."

And with that, the priest took two steps towards her and slammed his elbow into her temple, making the world fade into darkness once more.


	11. Chapter 11

Come on! Come on! What's taking so long?!" Ward was practically screaming at Fitzsimmons as they worked frantically around the lab.

"Ward!" May barked, "It you can't stay focused you can go upstairs."

"I'm not leaving." Ward shot back at her. Normally he wouldn't dare cross swords with "The Cavalry", but today was different. Skye had vanished, quite literally. One second he had been holding her in his arms, and the next he was grasping at air. May sent him a "keep-it-together" look before leaving the room.

"We're going as fast as we can, Ward" Fitz offered as he scuttled around to the different monitors, desperately trying to come up with answers they needed. "We're just lucky that Jemma managed to plant that tracking device before Skye disappeared."

Lucky. Ha. Ward didn't feel lucky. It had been hours; five hours by his count. Five hours since Skye had been swallowed up by that sickening orange glow, and they still couldn't pin-point her location. She could be anywhere, and those bastards could be doing anything to her. He clenched his fists at the thought, making a conscious effort to calm down. He would have loved to be down in the airlock right now, beating the hell out of that punching bag – anything to relieve some of the anger and frustration that was currently welling up inside him; but he couldn't leave. He needed to be here when Fitzsimmons finally came through, because when that moment came, he wasn't going to waste any time in getting to her. So the punching bag was going to have to wait, or, Ward surmised with slight amusement, he might be turning one of those Masterson kidnappers into a punching bag. One could only hope.

A tone began to sound from one of the monitors as the screen began to flash, Simmons rushed over to it and took in the new information; Ward held his breath, praying that it would be good news.

"Well, that solves _that_ problem," Simmons muttered.

"Did you find her?" Ward asked anxiously.

Simmons glanced over at him sympathetically, "No, sorry – this is just confirming the compound analysis. We've identified the substance from the wine, not that it helps us much now."

Ward exhaled, slightly defeated. He had dared to get his hopes up, rookie mistake. But then, wasn't Skye always making him do things like that? Ever since he had met her he had begun compromising himself. He had let her in, right from the first moment he became her S.O. – he never even knew why; Grant Ward didn't do things like that, he didn't just _let_ people in. And it hadn't stopped there.

In all the time since then he had constantly gone out of his way to comfort her after a hard mission, he had given in to her childish demands to ditch training for the afternoon and do something "fun" instead, he had even disobeyed direct orders to go in and save her on numerous occasions. Come to think of it, it was a wonder that S.H.I.E.L.D. had allowed him and Skye to continue working together; sure, they were a good team – a _great_ team even, but looking at the evidence, it would have been clear to anyone that they had compromised each other. Ward couldn't figure out if it was funny or sad that it had taken Skye vanishing into thin air for him to finally realise what had been staring him in the face all along.

"No! No! No!" Fitz screamed at his monitor before swiftly knocking it to the floor whilst Simmons and Ward gaped at him in shock. Simmons was the first to approach him, "Fitz! What the bloody hell was that?!"

"It's over, Jemma" Fitz answered, his voice breaking as unshed tears began to well up in his eyes.

Simmons hesitated before continuing, terrified of what he might say. Ward remained silent, a feeling of hopelessness beginning to wash over him.

"What do you mean 'it's over'?" Simmons pushed gently.

"It's the tracker. They found the tracker, and they..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words. He swallowed thickly before pushing on, "We have no idea where Skye is, and Masterson just took away our only chance of finding her. It's over." The Scotsman had barely finished his sentence before crumbling to the floor, a look of utter defeat about him.

Simmons shook her head at him, refusing to accept this. "Don't be ridiculous Fitz, they can't have! You just need to check again! Double-back, and recheck the frequency and use it to..."

"I HAVE!" Fitz shouted at her, stunning both Simmons _and_ Ward. "I have been checking, and re-checking every _single_ detail for the past hour now. Do you really think that I would just give up if I hadn't? We've tried everything, Jemma. There's nothing we can do, she's gone."

As hard as she had been trying to maintain her composure, Simmons couldn't hold back her grief any longer. A strangled sound escaped her lips as her tears began to fall freely. Fitz, seeing her heartache, forced himself up from the floor and pulled the biochemist into his arms, comforting her the only way he knew how.

Ward stared at the two for a moment, feeling nothing but numbness. He had heard everything Fitz had said: that is was over, that Skye was gone. No. No, that just _couldn't_ be. She was _Skye_, she was determined to the point of frustration. She would break the rules to do whatever she thought was right; she would put her own life in danger just to save someone else; and most of all, she never gave up, even when it was completely hopeless.

He had no idea where she was, or what was being done to her at this moment, but he knew with every ounce of his being that no matter what, she wouldn't give up. She would fight. And he had to do the same. In all the time they'd known one another, she had never given up on him, not once; and far be it from him to give up on her. Not happening.

"No." Ward finally spoke, determination evident in his tone. "No. We're not giving up. Skye would _never_ give up on us, and so we're not giving up on her."

"But we've tried everything!" Fitz replied.

"I don't care!" Ward snapped back. "The tracker's a bust. I get that. But there has to be something else. Some other way, and we're going to find it, and then we're going to find Skye. Now, what do we have to work with?"

Simmons was the first to speak, "Well, I guess... no, that's not really relevant."

"Doesn't matter, say it anyway." Ward responded.

"Well, we've identified the compound that activated the ring, but I don't really see how that helps us..."

"Wait a minute," Fitz spoke up, a hint of excitement in his voice, "Jemma, you said that when the ring was activated that the energy signature changed, right?"

"Yes..." Simmons replied tentatively; she had no idea what Fitz was getting at.

"Did you record it? Did you record the signature that activated the ring?"

"Of course, but why?"

"Call me crazy, but I think I have an idea!"

"What is it?!" Ward and Simmons asked in unison.

"Ward, do you still have your wedding band – the original one, from before you swapped it out?"

"Yeah, it's up in the war room."

"Go and get it."

"Why?" Ward asked, his heart beat starting to pick up in his chest.

"Skye disappeared because of the ring, the compound and the energy signature. And we have all of those things right here on the Bus! So, I figure if you get the ring, and we synthesise our own version of the chemical compound from the wine, all we have to do is reproduce the energy signature to activate the band!"

"Fitz! That's brilliant," Simmons exclaimed. "I'll get started on the compound!" And with that she tore away and began to gather bits and pieces from around the lab, a new resolve settling on her expression.

"Right," Fitz continued. "I'll get working on replicating the energy signature; Ward, you go get the ring... oh, and a gun. You might need it for wherever you're going."

"On it" Ward strode from the room, barely able to keep the smile from his face. "Hold on, Skye," he whispered to himself, "I'm coming."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi guys, **

**Once again, thanks for the reviews – I can't even begin to tell you how awesome you guys are. **

**Anyway, just wanted to warn you that this chapter is kind of long, however, I felt it was kinder than splitting it into two. **

**_And_****, you'll be pleased to know that we're nearing our end. I think that after this one, there'll probably be one more just to tie off all the loose ends, and then we're done. **

**So, I ****_really_**** hope you like this chapter. Thanks again. :)**

Her name was Skye, she grew up in St. Agnes Orphanage, and she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her name was Skye, she grew up in St. Agnes Orphanage, and she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her name was Skye, she grew up in St. Agnes Orphanage, and she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This is was her mantra now; it was practically the lullaby that she sang herself to sleep with. She had no idea how long she had been here, or how long they had been trying to break her down. The priest would come in and wake her at odd hours so that he could take her for more conditioning; at other times he would drag her, kicking and screaming, to the dark room – that was what she had come to know it as any way.

It was an appropriate title considering that the moment she was shoved into the small, claustrophobic space she would be plunged into darkness - never knowing how much time had passed by the time someone finally came to retrieve her. She hadn't decided which was worse yet: the dark room or the conditioning.

The conditioning consisted of her sitting, tied to a chair once again, forced to watch all manner of images flash across a screen for hours and hours on end – or at least that's what it felt like, she never knew for sure; At one point she recalled the priest telling her she had been there for weeks, and yet she was certain that it could not have been more than a few days, _if_ that. Regardless of the time that passed, she hated every second of it.

The images would fly by, leaving no time for her mind to comprehend what she had just seen and the whole time she would have to listen as the Priest, or Richard, as he had begun calling himself, would tell her the story of her life. Only it wasn't her life, it was the life of another girl, someone called Skye Williams.

Skye Williams was a senior at college studying computer science. She had a mother, a father and a little brother. Her brother's name was Andrew, and Skye Williams would drive home from college every weekend just to help him with his homework. Richard would also tell her the story of how Skye Williams had watched in horror as her little brother was crushed by falling rubble during the invasion of New York during their last family vacation – since then, Skye Williams hadn't been coping too well, so she had invented a secret government organisation, called S.H.I.E.L.D.

Skye Williams had now managed to convince herself that she was a computer hacker for S.H.I.E.L.D. and that she helped them protect the planet from extraterrestrial forces; all as an attempt to get revenge for her little brother's death.

And so now, every time she was returned to her tiny room with the most uncomfortable cot known to man, Skye would recite the lines over and over again in her head, all in an attempt to hold on to herself.

Her name was Skye, she grew up in St. Agnes Orphanage, and she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

Ward toppled to the ground as the orange glow finally faded. He was dizzy, and nauseous. Really nauseous actually, and there was two of everything around him – or was that the blurred vision? Definitely the blurred vision.

Slowly recovering from the transport, Ward pushed himself to his feet and took in his surroundings. He was in the church. The very same church that he had stood in a little over twelve hours ago and exchanged vows with Skye.

There didn't seem to be anyone around, however it was hard to tell for sure in the darkness that engulfed the room. Without a second thought, Ward retrieved the GPS from his pocket and activated it, alerting the team to his position; thankfully the Bus had stayed grounded since the wedding, meaning that the team wouldn't take too long to get to them.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?!"

Ward turned swiftly to face the source of the sound. It was a woman, she looked to be middle-aged and the logo on her blouse seemed to indicate that she was a patron of the Masterson Church. She had a panicked look on her face and didn't appear to be carrying a weapon, but he wasn't willing to place bets on that – so he decided to play it safe instead.

"Oh Thank God!" Ward exclaimed, feigning a tone of panic, "_Please_, I need you to help me! My wife, she just, she just vanished a few hours ago – I have no idea what happened to her! There was this glow, and she just...she just disappeared. And then, the same thing happened to me, just now!"

Ward watched in satisfaction as the woman's expression transformed from suspicious to pleased. She moved slowly towards him, hand outstretched, in a way that he was sure was supposed to be comforting. "I see. It's alright, dear. I know exactly what's happening. Come with me and we'll get it all worked out."

Ward kept up his act, and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you! Thank you so much! My wife, can you take me to my wife?"

"I'm sure we'll be able to find her, you just need to come with me."

He did. He followed the woman down the halls of the church, past the office where the priest had proffered him and Skye with the deadly toast, and further still until they reached a small, inconspicuous door that looked more like the opening to a closet.

Reaching into her pocket, the woman removed a set of keys, and jimmied one of them into the keyhole of the door before pulling it open and ushering him inside. From there, Ward continued to her follow down a series of stairways until finally arriving on the ground floor.

At this point the woman turned to him and offered him a small smile, "Now, you just stay here and I'll go tell them that you've arrived." She patted his hand gently before turning to walk away. She didn't get far though. Before she could take two steps, Ward reached out and grabbed her, muffling her attempts to scream with one hand whilst knocking her out with the other.

Now to find Skye.

* * *

"Who are you?"

They were in the conditioning room again. Skye was once again bound to the chair while "Richard" paced around her repetitively.

"My name is Skye." She answered through clenched teeth.

"Skye who?" The older man prompted.

"I don't know," she replied defiantly, "I'm still figuring that bit out."

Before she had even finished her sentence Skye had squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for what was to come. She was not disappointed. Without delay, Richard promptly slapped her across the face, leaving her seeing stars. He didn't like it when she didn't provide him with the 'right' answers.

"Wrong. Your name is Skye Williams. Now, what is your mother's name?"

"I don't have a mother."

Slapped again, only on the other side this time – just to keep it even. She tasted blood in her mouth and didn't hesitate to spit it onto Richard the next time his pacing brought him close enough to her. This, of course, earned her another slap, but it was worth it.

"Your mother's name is Sarah. Sarah Williams. Now, what about your father, what was his name?"

"Ugh. This game is boring! Can we play something else? Monopoly could be..." Slapped.

It must have been a good one too, because when Skye finally opened her eyes several moments later she got the distinct impression that she had been knocked out.

"Oh good, you're back." Richard sent her one of his signature creepy smiles, and returned to his pacing.

"Now, tell me again, Skye: what is your last name?"

Skye sighed. Her face was going to look so bad by the time this was over.

* * *

Ward felt absolutely no guilt as he held the gun to man's head. He was also certain that he would feel no guilt in pulling the trigger either; emotions that he was sure were written all over his face.

"Tell me where she's being held."

The man cowered slightly, as he gave his answer, "Who? There are so many, I need to know who you're looking for – please, please don't kill me!"

"If you tell me what I want to know I won't have to. Now, I'm looking for a woman. Long brown hair, petite figure, beautiful eyes; she would have been brought in here last night some time."

"You mean the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"

"That's the one." Ward responded, relief washing over him slightly – at least he knew that she was here somewhere and hadn't been taken to some other location.

"All I know is that she won't cooperate. She's been taken to Conditioning."

Ward's stomach dropped. Relief gone. He needed to find her, and he needed to do it soon.

"Where is Conditioning?" Ward demanded, the gun still pointed at the man's skull.

"Please!" The man begged, beginning to break down into tears, "If they find out it was me, they'll kill me!"

"And if you don't tell me where Conditioning is, I will kill you _right_ now." Seeing the man's fear, Ward inhaled deeply and tried altering his approach slightly, "Listen, if you tell me what I want to know, I can stop them. Stop everything that Masterson is doing. You'll be safe. But that can't happen if you don't tell me what I need to know."

The man nodded slightly as he slowly reached into his pocket. Ward went on high alert, unsure of whether this man planned to help him or was attempting to retrieve some kind of weapon; either way, he was ready.

With a shaking hand, the man pulled a crumbled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ward. Still keeping the gun locked in its current position, the agent accepted the paper and unfolded it. It was a map, a map of the compound he and Skye were currently trapped in. He surveyed the paper briefly, skimming over the tiny scrawl until he found what he was looking for. Conditioning.

"Where are we now? On the map, what's our current position?" Ward asked.

With a trembling finger, the man pointed to a spot on the map.

"Thank you." And with that, Ward lowered the gun from the man's head and took off running towards Conditioning; towards Skye.

* * *

Skye turned her head away as far as she could manage; anything to escape the sickening caress of Richard's fingers against her bruised face.

"Aren't you tired, Skye? Don't you hurt?" The man whispered in her ear. "It can all stop. All you have to do is say it. Say the words, tell me who you are..."

"I have told you," Skye answered, hating herself for the tears that were making tracks down her cheeks. "My name is Skye; I grew up in St. Agnes' Orphanage, and I am an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I know that's what you think, Skye" Richard soothed, "But it's not real, you're sick, you're angry – your brother's death affected you, and that's okay. It's only natural. You _loved_ Andrew, you would have done anything for him, and that's why you're doing this now. But here's the thing, Skye. You're only hurting yourself."

"You're lying." Skye whispered, mostly for her own reassurance. She could feel herself breaking, and she hated herself for it. The pain in her face had created a fog around her mind, clouding her memories from her; so much so, that she could no longer be sure of what was true and what was a lie. Desperately she clung to what she knew. The team. One by one, their images flashed into her mind.

Coulson, the father-figure she had never had; May, the strong and silent guardian of the group; Fitz, with his Scottish accent, and dopey smile; Simmons, a brilliant biochemist and her best friend; and Ward. Of course he would be the last one to come to her mind - his was the memory she wanted to hold on to the most. His smile, his smell, the way her heart skipped a beat when he held her hand. Everything. Even the bits she had thought she hated. She gathered them all; every piece of him that she had buried in her mind was brought the surface, anchoring her to what she _knew_ was reality.

"But that's just it," Richard was leaning over her now, trying to force her to meet his eyes, "I'm not lying, it's all true, and you _know_ it. And I can make it all stop – all the bad things will go away, all you have to do is tell me your name..."

Before Skye could say anything, the door burst open revealing a very pissed-off Grant Ward.

Richard turned swiftly to identify the intruder, but was stopped by a gun being pointed at his chest, "Her name is Skye."

**NB: I know that in reality, brainwashing takes a lot longer, but I sort of had to accelerate the process for the timeline of the story – so I hope you guys don't mind too much. **

**Hope you liked it. :)**


End file.
